State Senate candidates travel separate tracks on bullet train

California High-Speed Rail Authority

California High-Speed Rail Authority

California’s plan to build a $68-billion bullet train divided the Legislature this summer, so it is no surprise that it became a hot-button election issue. And nowhere is that split more on show than in the 5thSenate District contest in the San Joaquin Valley.

The race features two Stockton lawmakers: Democratic Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani, a leading proponent of the high-speed rail project, and Republican Assemblyman Bill Berryhill, one of the most outspoken opponents of the project in the Legislature.

Galgiani’s campaign is touting that she authored the legislation that put the California High-Speed Train Bond Act of 2008 on the ballot, where voters approved the project. And she played a leading role in winning legislative approval of first-phase funding this year as chairwoman of the Assembly select committee on high-speed rail.

That position out front on the issue has made her a target of criticism from Berryhill, who believes the project will cost much more than is budgeted and is not affordable.